Method of treating crude oil.



c. B. FORWARD. METHOD 0F TREATlNG CRUDE 0|L. APPLICATION FILED SPT.8,1914.

Llm Patented May 2,1916.

LVAM A TTOR/VEV rrp. sraus ramena canton.

CHAUNCEY B. FORWARD, OF URBANA, OHIO.

METHOD or mirarme citrine OIL.

meneer.

Specification of Letters a'tent. i

' Patented May i?, 1916.

Application led September 8, 1914. i Serial No. 860,621.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHAUNCEY B. Fon- WARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Urbana,lin the county of Champaign and-State of-Ohio, have invented certain nevi7 and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Crude Oil, of which the following is a specification;

. My invention has reference to an improvement in the method of treating crude oil and the distillates thereof set forth particularly in my Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,088,693, and dated lVIarch 3, 1914. In my present invention,` I f have so far imroved fon the method and apparatus set dinal section elevation. Fig:A 2 is an elevavtion 1n section enlarged, of one of the intermediate condensers Which is individual and diferentfrom the others as hereinafter described.

By the means thus shown, I am enabled to purify the fractional distillates obtained from those portions of crude oil from which the heavier fractions of oils have beenpre 1f.. viously condensed as shown substantially in my said Patent No. 1,088,693, as Well as to obtain a materially increased percentage of themore volatile or lighter'produ'cts as above described; In my said Patent No.1,088,693, I state that the several condensers maybe changed 4in size and numbers, and made smallerpor larger here and there in the series according to the character of the crude oil,

being handled atthe time and 'thenumber and character of the lfractions desired therqefrom, and some of .these possibilities and changes structurally are present in this case,

plus the changes necessary to secure the results herein, described. rlhus, the drawings show a retort R and a series of condensers D, E, F, G, H, I,'and K, and a condenser Worm AL connected and operating in the order named. ,Discharge is fromthe top of one condenser to the bottom ofthe next in v order, as formerly, by a pipe 2, and a drain 3 for the condensed products from each by the trap or outlet 4. Formerly, the operation was progressive and similar in `ma' n ner from one condenser to the other. theinitial pressure from or through the retort bemg exclusively relied upon to drive the fluid vapors through the series of condensers to the'ivorm L and leaving the condensations in each according to the size and position of the columns. Of course, the successive condensations passed off V through the successive traps or outlets 4 and they dosoin this case, but I have'fou'nd it desirable for commercial 4reasons to add a further treatment to the lighter dist'illates after the heavy oil vapors have been condensed. Hence, I have provided a. condenser column Grin the series with a super-heated steam jacketJ about said column and introduce a superheated steam jet 6 into the entrance or neck at the bottom of said column. The superheated steam to boththe said jacket and the jet is shown in this instance as coming from the steam pipe 7, and will be at about the same temperature as the retort, say (350o F. less the comparatively slight loss by radiation en route, but as shown in Fig. l the pipe T fis connected by a pipe T to the cylinder C located ivithin the retort R. the cylinder C being supplied avith steam through pipe DE' T he steam'may be taken from any other avail able source. The effect of said jeton the oil vapors at this point is to break them up into still more minute particles and assist in the reheating of the same in connection with the superheated steam about said condenser column G. The resultof this operation is the purification of the distillates and at the same time, an increased percentage'of volatile oils condensed with 'the naphtha and gasolene. This' increase, however, in the nap'htha and gasolene, is secured at a cost of a' reduction in the amount of heavier oils, the vapors of which have been treated by the above improved method. By reason of the action of' the steam jacket and jet on the vapors in condenser G, there Will be very little condensation therein, and it will be observed that the bottom of the said column is the opening to the side of the center hole 'ifn-V stead of from the central opening as is the. s. case 1n the otherjcondenser columns; a pipe 10 connects with said bottom and has the usual trap or outlet 4. y

`On account of the increased temperature `of `the vapors asthey come'from condenser G byreasonof'the steam jacketJ and the injection o'js'team' therein, it is necessary to make 'the condenser H relatively larger so as tosecure the condensation of the desired amount of the'distillate that the operator wishes to-obtain at this point in the operation* If', say,'Ol1io crude oil were being' handled, the distillates co1ning-from both the jacketed condenser 'G and thefcon-v denser H would be what is known as interniediate gas or fuel oil. Although the quantity of this distillate is less than is se- 1 cured by the apparatus shown in my Patent No. 1,088,693 of March 3, 1914, the reason tor the increased condensing area required at this lpoint, as shown in lthis improved apparatus over said patent, is because of the increase in the temperature of the vapors in condenser column (l, necessitating the larger condensing 'surface to secure the desired amount of condensation of the required gravity of. distillate. The condenser lis relatively smaller by reason ofthe decreased 'amount ot kerosene secured' by th1s 1111-' proved lnethod while condenser K-*is correspondingly larger by 1je-ason of the increased amount ot' naphtha obtained' as well as condenser L for the gasolene.

l have shown the lniddle condenseIin the series of seven with superheating means for .Asfthe oils from the different oil lields` i arcall different in character, it is obvious that 1t would be necessary for one yto be skilled in thezart in order to know at which point to place the steam jacket condenser as well'as to determine the sizeand number of'condensers to be used 'according to the oil being treated and the number of :tractions desiredin each case. 'A

When starting loperations all the valve v from the outlets or traps from the several condensers are closed and are kept closed until the `said traps. or goose necks l are filled and then they are opened. This avoids the possible, blowingout o f uncondensed vapors in the several condensers until said traps are filled and it also' helps t'o-l equalize.

the pressure throughout the series. It will kbe seen that the final condenser' or worm L has-a valve or cock z the same as those preceding. After all the valves are opened there will be a sustained iow from the severall condensers according to their respec;

tlve grav1t1es and condensatlon and -d1s. charge are contlnued w1thout cessatlon throughout the period of operation.

lVhat I claim is: Y

The process. herein described of treating hydrocarbon oils, which consists in passing thefvapors from a'still through-a series of successively connected densers in all of ,which the vapors are alike exposed, andafter the vapors have passed vthrough a plurality of the 'condensers 'reheating the vapors in one of the condensers before they enter the remaining condensers to a temperature in excess of the last condenser through which they passed before entering the reheater.

In testimory whereof I affix my signatur in presence of two witnesses.

CHAUNGEY n. FORWARD. `Witnesses A FJ. GREER, R. B. MOSER.

ymarating con- 

